Utility CyclingWant to haul groceries, beer, maybe even your kids? You don't have to live car free to put your bike to use as a workhorse. Here's the place to share and learn about the bicycle as a utility vehicle.

I rode about five miles to REI and bought this Marin Bobcat Trail. I left my Marin Mill Valley at the store, rode the new bike home, hitched the trailer to it and returned to retrieve my "flat bar road" bike. The Mill Valley has carbon seat stays so I didn't want to haul the trailer with it, so I had to make two roundtrips. The MTB I had been using as a hauler cracked. I have another older hybrid that I plan to use as the primary trailer hauler, but I need to build a wheel for it. I wanted to have a mountain bike for mountain biking, so I bought this and it makes a nice hauler too (hydraulic disc brakes ).

The first time I rode to the store on a bike that was unsuitable for hauling the trailer because it had carbon seat stays. If you look very closely at the quote you've made you will see that. Pay attention, jenson! I intentionally avoided using hard words!

Having 21 speeds and better brakes has made my P20 quite a capable utility bike...

had to ride west into a nasty headwind buut really enjoyed the tailwind on the way home as it was enough to push me along at 40kmh and am sure I must have been quite the sight... this little bike towing a trailer with another bike (1977 R20) folded up on top.

Well I'm still working out the kinks on my new jamis commuter 2. So far I have my old seat bag with all tools required,a new rear rack and using my old trek right side only pannier. First thing this morning I went to the grocery store and bought a gallon of milk and a dozen eggs. Just got back from a ten mile ride to get a 5 lb bag of dog food, and took the dog with me in a front pack that you wear(he's only 4 lbs. It was fun except it started drizzling outside a mile into our ride.

i pick and delivered 10, 2liter bottles of pop for my sister today using my trailer. i save my sister about $20 because it was on save for $1 per bottle and she has been paying $2.50 a bottle at the local convenient store.

i pick and delivered 10, 2liter bottles of pop for my sister today using my trailer. i save my sister about $20 because it was on save for $1 per bottle and she has been paying $2.50 a bottle at the local convenient store.

Yesterday was a grocery run, not a big one, just enough for a couple days. Today was a run to the gas station to exchange a propane cylinder. The empty cylinder fit nicely in my front basket, the weight of the full one on the return run made steering a bit difficult, but certainly manageable. Biggest utility load to date.

I know the idea behind this thread was to write about small trips, picking up sweet frozen yogurt for your sweetheart and other local errands etc. Sorry for corrupting the intent of the thread by only posting my bigger loads, but my bike looks stupid empty and it's been looking stupid a lot lately. Business has been bad this summer.

I had one decent sized load today, that I took to the wrong place. I unloaded and waited a long time for a shipping/receiving clerk to point out that I was at the wrong hotel. The sender had sent boxes to a hotel yesterday and I stupidly assumed they were sending more to the same place today. I did not read the address carefully. The first part was the same. Both times they were addressed to the company sending the boxes, c/o Hotel Whatever. The hotels were very close and had similar addresses.

Getting no work, I've taken to picking up discarded items. My new coffee table.

[QUOTE=qmsdc15;11464675]Hey squirt, I hope your knee got cleaned up and prognosis is OK.

I know the idea behind this thread was to write about small trips, picking up sweet frozen yogurt for your sweetheart and other local errands etc. Sorry for corrupting the intent of the thread by only posting my bigger loads, but my bike looks stupid empty and it's been looking stupid a lot lately. Business has been bad this summer.

QUOTE]

Quick....knee is doing way better and the fixed cup is out, success.

No corruption....the intent is for whatever utility rides any one does no matter how defined.

I love your pictorals and keep trying to remember to bring the camera.

Hope business gets better..... maybe you can add a chair and haul tourists

Black males see me, white people and women do not. Brothers frequently celebrate me and give me props as I ride by. Even when I'm at lunch, away from the bike, sometimes they know me tell me I rock. I love the recognition. It doesn't pay the rent, but I can't quit this job.

Taking out the recycling. Nothing says, "Hey, I'm destitute!" better than a bike with garbage strapped to the front and cans rattling in the panniers (except that hobos don't have panniers, and you don't get any money for recycling here).

Two panniers full of newspaper and mixed paper (mostly junk mail), and a messenger bag full of aluminum and tin cans. Cardboard up front because it's the lightest part of the load. Wicked thick banks of drifting fog through town today, kinda wished that the cardboard hadn't been obscuring the headlight.

There's a lot about your bike that screams "I'm not a hobo's bike!", but only a cyclist would notice those details. Except for the stripped paint, that makes it look stolen. Haha, just kidding. I saw your post in "Pictures of Your Hybrid" thread. I like the new clean look. Your running lights are really cool too.